About You Now
by redskiez
Summary: Deidara pushes through the bush and finds him sitting alone on a rock. Instead of sending him away to regroup, Obito allows him to stay, peering at him until there is no turning back.
1. Chapter 1

He looks at him like he's offending all of his senses by merely being alive, which if he thinks about it, may very well be the truth.

"Of all the people I met," Deidara says, beginning to head over to him, "there is only one who is a massive enough of an idiot to wear masks that catch others' eyes, instead of the opposite, hm."

He remains sitting on the rock, holding his tongue.

"Did Kabuto actually revive you, yeah?" Deidara asks, standing in front of him now.

Still, he doesn't say anything.

After a few heartbeats, he watches as Deidara peers at him, looking up and down and even straining to peek over him. This continues for a few seconds before Deidara finally sighs and then moves to sit down beside him.

"You're Tobi, right?"

Obito doesn't do anything to acknowledge him. Instead, he focuses on the way an ant is scrambling across the dirt.

"What did the afterlife do to you that changed you, hm?" Deidara asks. "Or did Kabuto take away your ability to speak when he revived you?"

"I didn't die," Tobi finally says.

Deidara shifts and then when he next hears his voice, he seems to be closer.

"I didn't think you did," he says. "You were pretty good at running away from things, hm."

Obito holds his left hand in his right.

"Well, I hope it was my ultimate art that made you finally mature mentally, yeah," Deidara says and he hears him cross his arms.

Tobi shakes his head minutely and Deidara doesn't comment on it.

"So, run me through on the events that happened after I died, yeah," Deidara says, stern.

Obito finally sits up straight and turns to face his former partner, seeing for the first time – up close – what Kabuto can do with the so-called perfected Edo Tensei.

Deidara looks the same as he does when he was still alive, but the telltale blackness of his sclera gives it all away.

Obito tries not to focus on that.

"There's a war," Tobi says.

"No, I know that there's a war," Deidara says. "Tell me what happened immediately after I died, hm."

"Uchiha Sasuke managed to escape your bomb," Tobi says.

Deidara's expression turns stormy. "Bullshit," he says, "there was no way he could have escaped, hm, the bomb's radius goes miles."

Tobi shrugs.

He hears Deidara click his tongue and then he falls quiet for a long time until Obito feels a firm hand rests on his shoulder.

"Tobi," he hears Deidara say.

Tobi nods once, bidding him to keep talking.

"What _happened_ to you?"

"Nothing happened," Tobi says.

"No," Deidara replies. "Something did, hm. What's with the new look?"

"Change of clothes," Tobi shrugs.

"Change of clothes," Deidara repeats with a slight change of tone, mocking him. "Why are you wearing a new mask? And pray tell, _why_ does it look like a goddamn Sharingan?"

Obito turns away from Deidara, finding he lacks the courage to face him. "I thought that senpai is smart," Tobi mumbles.

"Smart," Deidara chuckles and then he outright laughs in his face, fingers digging into his right shoulder. "You're telling me that you're an Uchiha, Tobi, hm?"

Obito hopes that Tobi's silence will answer Deidara's – probably rhetoric – question.

"I can't believe it," Deidara says, letting go of his shoulder and laughing coldly in disbelief. "You're an Uchiha after all this time."

"I can't exactly change what family I was born from, Deidara-senpai."

"Don't 'senpai' me, you piece of shit," Deidara stands. "You lied to me, hm."

"I didn't," Obito says firmly.

"Then tell me what happened."

"After you died, I stopped hiding in the shadows and stepped into my rightful role. The Akatsuki's numbers were dwindling and there was no time to waste."

"Your rightful role," Deidara scoffs, shaking his head. "I knew it. With an organization like this, it had to be run by an Uchiha, hm."

"It's not what you think," Obito says.

"Then what is it?"

Obito doesn't know what to say. Why did he say that? Of course, it is what Deidara thinks.

"The entire time, you're the secret leader and you're an Uchiha, hm," Deidara says. "So everything was an act, then?"

Obito wants to say something but Deidara cuts him off.

"I knew something was up when you didn't seem particularly excited that I'm back, hm," he says. "Can't believe that I have to say I want the whining Tobi back. It felt nice to have someone mourn me so loudly, hm."

"I didn't want this to happen," Tobi tries. "Kabuto made me – blackmailed me."

"But you're gaining an advantage over it, hm," Deidara says accusingly.

"Yes, but I never wanted it in the first place," Obito says. "Your body is indestructible. You inhabit a body that directly contradicts your art philosophy. Why would I let anyone do that to you when I know your art is so important to you?"

Deidara lets out a dry laugh at his words. "Are you trying to make this about my feelings, hm?" Deidara says, bitter. "I didn't know you cared so much, Tobi, hm."

Obito furrows his eyebrows and then suddenly, everything starts to fall into place.

"You cared about Tobi,"Obito says and then cringes at his choice of words.

"Of course I cared about you," Deidara says and then he stops himself. "You're not Tobi, hm."

As observant as ever, Obito thinks to himself. He can't believe something he'd admire in the heat of battle would come back to bite him in the ass.

"Tobi was never a real person," Obito decides to say. "It's my alias."

Deidara looks as if someone just punched him in the stomach. His expression is so pained that it makes Obito feels a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach. It is as though something is writhing in it. It is uncomfortable and very unlike the similar slithery feelings he got when Rin was still alive.

"Everything _was_ an act, hm," is all Deidara says.

"Not everything," Obito replies.

Deidara ignores him. "What's your real name, then, hm?" he asks, still looking pained.

"Obito," he says.

"Uchiha Obito," Deidara says.

Obito doesn't say anything.

He watches as Deidara quickly glances up into the sky, his eye suspiciously watery, and then turns his gaze back to him. He begins to nod minutely as if he is realizing something for the first time.

"I liked you," Deidara says.

Obito nods.

"I didn't want to drag you into my suicide, hm," he continues.

Obito nods again.

"I thought you died with me," he says, "so the first thought I had when I woke up in this god-awful body was how I can see you to tell you I'm sorry, hm, in person this time."

Obito remains still.

Deidara _liked_ him. Deidara _liked_ Tobi.

He moves to stand up and Deidara takes a step back. He sees his mouth twitch but before his former partner can leave him alone, Obito reaches out – quickly – and gathers Deidara into his arms.

Deidara struggles at first, leading Obito to just hold him closer. It takes a few moments but, eventually, Deidara goes still. Obito senses a strange sensation in his throat – it feels a little too tight, or a little too big. He swallows thickly, feeling pins and needles when he does.

He grips Deidara tighter. He buries his masked face into his hair.

He smells like earth and fabric and plaster – there is no hint of rot anywhere.

He is cold and Obito senses no heartbeat. He feels frail and small in his arms and Obito feels as though he should strangle Kabuto.

Obito stops thinking when he feels Deidara return his embrace, thin arms snaking around his body in a rather awkward manner before wrapping themselves around his torso, locking in place.

"I liked you because I thought you liked me too, hm," Deidara mumbles into his cloak.

"I do like you," Obito replies.

"You pretended to like me."

"I _do_ like you," Obito says with more emphasis this time.

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe, hm."

It is hard to believe. Even Obito didn't know he liked Deidara.

Spending time with Deidara as Tobi made him forget that he is hell-bent on conquering the world. Being with Deidara makes him forget the reason he agreed to do so in the first place.

"I do like you," Obito says one more time.

He feels Deidara nod into his chest and then a quiet "okay" follows.

"I wish I realized it sooner," Obito continues.

"Me too, hm," comes Deidara's feeble response.

Obito thinks it's a miracle for Deidara to like him when he knows nothing about him.

"This technique isn't going to last forever," Obito says. "I… I just wanted you to know that I won't let Kabuto keep using this technique, especially not when the war is over."

Deidara nods. They enjoy each other's solid presence for a while before Deidara loosens his grip and pushes himself up.

"Can I see your face, yeah?"

Obito tilts his head. There is no one around them for miles. Kabuto fucked off somewhere and while Obito doesn't want that man out of his sight, he's glad that he's currently nowhere to be found.

Obito nods.

Deidara reaches up and gently touches the sides of his mask. He traces the patterns with the tip of his fingers for a few moments before he grips the edges. Slowly, very slowly, Deidara lifts his arms and the mask comes off of Tobi's face.

He keeps the mask resting on top of Obito's head as he stares.

His fingers roam across his scars, across his eyes, his nose, and his busted lips.

Deidara's eyes linger there.

"I just… want to know…" Deidara is mumbling.

Obito reaches up and grasps Deidara's wrist, pulling his hand away and leans down in one swift motion.

"…how it feels like…"

Deidara falls quiet when Obito presses his lips against his.

They move slowly, unhurried. A quiet dance between two people knowing that this is the first and the last time they can do this.

They don't break away until Obito can feel himself getting affected. He puts his hand under Deidara's hair, on the nap of his neck, gloved thumb running over Deidara's hairline.

Deidara furrows his eyebrows adorably, leaning up and Obito presses his forehead against Deidara's, relishing in the brush of hair against his scarred cheek.

"Can we stay here," Deidara mumbles, eyes half-closed, "for a little while?"

They can't.

"Okay," Obito says.

* * *

Hey guys, Red here!

This is beta'd by AO3 user Dani_ATN.

gensing:  
I want to know what you think their reactions to each other would be in Edo Tensei if it was just the two of them alone.

Originally, I wanted more obvious hints to Obito and Deidara's established relationship before Edo Tensei, but I looked over the prompt again and I realized that sticking to canon lore would be better. Toward the part of the conversation where Deidara is demanding Tobi explain everything to him, I realized that it would go down an even angstier path if I don't drive it back to TobiDei, so I hammered it ninety degrees and tried to salvage it before it got too sad.

I don't think it completely worked because now it's just so bittersweet.

This is a gift and dedicated to gensing. I hope you enjoyed it!

Follow me on Tumblr (redskiez dot tumblr dot com) for some side-content and if you want to make me write something for you, too, you can shoot me an ask with the prompt idea. Only taking T/ObiDei prompts, as always, but I will write almost everything. Almost. I'll tell you if I'm uncomfortable with something. If you have an AO3 or FFN account, you should say so in the ask if you want me to dedicate/gift this to you.

If you enjoyed this (or didn't), please leave a review telling me why and which parts! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

There is nothing at first.

Nothing but the void, nothing around him as he floats aimlessly through a space that is unknown to him.

And then he feels a warmth spreading through him and a gentle hand touches him on the shoulder.

He blinks open his eyes in shock, pushing himself to sit up properly.

It takes him a while to realize who it is that shocked him back to awareness and he glances down at himself, realizing that he's wearing his childhood clothes.

"Rin," he says, voice barely dipped with puberty.

Rin smiles at him, holding him there.

"Sorry, I'm late," he tries to say but Rin shakes her head, patting his shoulder reassuringly.

"You just got turned around on your way," she says, giving him one of those smiles that would have made his belly do summersaults back in the day.

But now, he feels nothing.

He stares blankly at his former teammate, finding himself at a loss of words.

Rin's smile turns sad, a sense of melancholy fills the space around them – it's a weird space, too. It's swirling with a mixture of warm pastel colors and it reminds Obito of an emperor's robes.

"You found somewhere else to be along the way, didn't you?" Rin asks.

Obito doesn't know what she's talking about.

"You found somewhere else to belong to," she says.

It's not any clearer, Rin.

"I know you liked me," Rin says, "but I can't find myself to return your feelings."

Obito lowers his gaze, staring at his gloved hands and focusing on the weight of his goggles on his head.

"I want you to know that you should find someone else that will make you happy," she says. "It's not right to chase after something that just won't happen."

Obito furrows his eyebrows. He knows what he did was wrong now. He wants to apologize.

"There's no need to apologize," Rin continues, "because you found someone who can and will make you happy."

Obito blinks harshly and looks up at her, confused.

"You were happy," Rin says. "I felt it."

A certain someone with a waterfall of golden hair flashes in his mind. The image disappears equally as quickly.

"Focus on that happiness," Rin says.

Obito reaches out to take her hand.

"I don't want to go," he whispers.

"This is not where you belong."

The next time Obito blinks, Rin disappears. He looks around frantically and then realizes that he's no longer in his child form. He looks exactly the same as he did when he died.

Obito swallows thickly, pushing himself to his feet with his right hand, struggling to make sense of what is going on.

"It's weird, isn't it, hm?"

A familiar voice comes from somewhere behind him and he turns around until he finds himself face-to-face with Deidara.

He looks exactly as he did before he died, too. Deidara is wearing nothing more than his usual gear underneath the Akatsuki cloak, a mesh shirt hidden beneath his blue tank top.

"Took you long enough," Deidara says.

"Deidara," Obito utters, taking a step forward. He is unable to move anymore because Deidara is suddenly in his arms, nuzzling deep into his chest.

Obito takes a few moments to register what is going on before he wraps his arms tightly around Deidara as if his soul depends on it – and he's sure it does.

The moment he holds Deidara, he feels something shift.

Deidara pulls away after a while, looking him all over.

"Hm," he mumbles. "You do look better with black hair, yeah. That white hair was tacky."

Obito can't help but laugh at that.

He feels Deidara's finger on his scars again, touching gently. He feels him linger on his left eye.

"You have your left eye, still, yeah," he says.

"More vision for me to see you with," Obito says and then he leans down. Deidara leans up and they meet mid-way.

Their kiss is more urgent than before, a repeat of a dance they did back when they were both in the mortal pane. There is no need to hurry here as there is no threat of anyone walking in on them. Time does not exist here either and neither of them has anything to do – yet they both decide that it is important to rush, to let the kiss grow even more heated.

They part after a while, Obito combing his fingers through Deidara's long hair while Deidara scratches his scalp, his hair too short to do anything else.

"I missed you," Deidara says.

Obito laughs, leaning down to kiss him again, mumbling into his lips, "I haven't been gone long."

"Yes, you have," Deidara says between kisses. "I had to watch you – hm – from here."

Then he knows everything.

"I know everything," Deidara mumbles.

Obito swears that these spirits can hear his thoughts.

"A strange phenomenon, indeed, hm," Deidara says, biting Obito's lower lip playfully.

"Ouch!" Obito complains. "You know I have a busted lip, Deidara."

"Hm," Deidara mumbles but Obito can hear that he's saying – thinking – that he likes it when he calls him 'senpai.'

"It _is_ a strange phenomenon, senpai," Obito says, bewildered.

"Was it boring for you, senpai?" Obito asks.

"What, watching you?" Deidara says, every word he says a soft gentle brush of their lips. "Sure, hm. I keep forgetting that you can't hear me and it feels a lot like watching a movie, yeah."

"Hm," Obito hums. "It's strange that you can watch me. I wonder why that is?"

"How do things work in the spirit realm, you mean, yeah?" Deidara pulls away and tugs Obito closer to him, nuzzling his cheek against Obito's. "I think it has something relating to emotional closeness, hm."

"Emotional closeness," Obito chuckles. "That makes sense."

"Yeah?" Deidara mumbles, brushing a kiss against Obito's cheek.

Obito looks over Deidara's shoulder, seeing a faint outline of Rin waving at him, smiling brightly. When he blinks again, Rin disappears, leaving nothing to prove that she was ever there but the faint memory of her presence in the back of his mind.

"Yeah," he replies, turning to kiss Deidara again. They go slowly this time and Obito can't help but let his hands wander, stroking Deidara's back in long and slow movements.

Deidara jumps in his arm and hums contently when Obito reaches his ass. He gropes the flesh eagerly, licking at Deidara's lips in a tease.

"Shame I couldn't feel this when we were alive," Obito mumbles into Deidara's lips before plunging his tongue into his mouth, preventing Deidara from being able to respond for a few seconds before he pulls away.

"No reason why you can't feel it now, hm," Deidara says, licking his lips.

"Can we?" Obito chuckles, hand still on Deidara's ass.

"I guess you'll never find out," Deidara says, wiggling his hips.

"Shame," Obito says, tightening his hold.

"Shame, indeed, hm."

* * *

Hey guys, Red here!

This is beta'd by AO3 user Dani_ATN.

addicted-to-nothing said:  
hello i am here to formally request a sequel to 'About You Now' where Obito finally dies and goes to ninja heaven or whatever and Deibae is there like "fucking finally bitch" and they have a long ass make out session and Tobi grabs Dei's ass and never let's go. That's it. Tnx. (ps. im not asking for smut but I feel like Tobi can't keep his hands off Dei's ass lmao)

Yeah, yeah, it's beta'd by the same person who requested the sequel.

Same deal, if you want me to write, you can go and shoot me a message on Tumblr (redskiez dot tumblr dot com) and I'll get cracking!

Leave a review! :)


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